TIRUPUR/COIMBATORE: A leopard which got entangled in a chain-link fence at the Kolumam forest boundary has been safely rescued by the personnel of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in the Tirupur forest division. It was subsequently released in the reserve forest on Tuesday.
"There were no major injuries when the leopard's body was examined. There was only a laceration wound on the skin. Medicine was immediately applied to it. The leopard was then brought to a cage and released about 5 kilometres inside the nearby Andipatti Reserve Forest, which is a contiguous forest area of the buffer area of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve at 7.30 pm," said an official.
An agricultural landowner found the two-year-old female leopard trapped in the chain-link fence and alerted the forester of Kolumam, R Mathiyan. The latter immediately went to the place, took photos and videos, and sent them to the Deputy Director Rajesh and the Field Director D Venkatesh.
The leopard was sedated before it was taken out of the fence.
"We had asked the locals to avoid coming near the leopard to keep it calm," the official added.
It was tranquilised by forest veterinary officer, Coimbatore, S Vennila and retired veterinarian N S Manoharan by 5.15 pm.
The Andipatti Block I was declared as a Reserved Forest three months ago. It is an isolated area located about 250 metres away from the Tiruppur buffer division boundary. There are villages and agricultural lands abutting this reserved forest.
Wild boar flings woman
Meanwhile, a 70-year-old woman was injured after a wild boar flung her at a tea shop at Bhavani Sagar near Sathyamangalam on Wednesday evening. She is undergoing treatment at the Sathyamangalam government hospital.
She was working at the shop as the boar attacked her, shows CCTV footage.
Residents demanded the forest department to keep an eye on wild boars too though there have been no untoward incidents posed by them unlike the ones created by wild elephants.
Cage set up for leopard
Meanwhile, Pollachi forest range officials have placed a cage to trap a leopard at a farmland in Kuppichipudur near Odayakulam on Tuesday.
Pollachi Forest range officer K Ganan Murugan said that they placed the cage after noticing that the leopard was frequenting the farmland which is located adjacent to the forest.
"We have confirmed the leopard presence using pug marks as well as camera traps which were installed at the farmland," the official said.
